Tuesday, October 30, 2012

If Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 had a title, it would be called, Question 2: Prescribing Medication to End Life.

Here's the FULL TEXT of QUESTION 2:

Question 2
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives on or before May 1, 2012?

This proposed law would allow a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at a terminally ill patient’s request, to end that patient’s life. To qualify, a patient would have to be an adult resident who (1) is medically determined to be mentally capable of making and communicating health care decisions; (2) has been diagnosed by attending and consulting physicians as having an incurable, irreversible disease that will, within reasonable medical judgment, cause death within six months; and (3) voluntarily expresses a wish to die and has made an informed decision. The proposed law states that the patient would ingest the medicine in order to cause death in a humane and dignified manner. The proposed law would require the patient, directly or through a person familiar with the patient’s manner of communicating, to orally communicate to a physician on two occasions, 15 days apart, the patient’s request for the medication. At the time of the second request, the physician would have to offer the patient an opportunity to rescind the request. The patient would also have to sign a standard form, in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom is not a relative, a beneficiary of the patient’s estate, or an owner, operator, or employee of a health care facility where the patient receives treatment or lives. The proposed law would require the attending physician to: (1) determine if the patient is qualified; (2) inform the patient of his or her medical diagnosis and prognosis, the potential risks and probable result of ingesting the medication, and the feasible alternatives, including comfort care, hospice care and pain control; (3) refer the patient to a consulting physician for a diagnosis and prognosis regarding the patient’s disease, and confirmation in writing that the patient is capable, acting voluntarily, and making an informed decision; (4) refer the patient for psychiatric or psychological consultation if the physician believes the patient may have a disorder causing impaired judgment; (5) recommend that the patient notify next of kin of the patient’s intention; (6) recommend that the patient have another person present when the patient ingests the medicine and to not take it in a public place; (7) inform the patient that he or she may rescind the request at any time; (8) write the prescription when the requirements of the law are met, including verifying that the patient is making an informed decision; and (9) arrange for the medicine to be dispensed directly to the patient, or the patient’s agent, but not by mail or courier. The proposed law would make it punishable by imprisonment and/or fines, for anyone to (1) coerce a patient to request medication, (2) forge a request, or (3) conceal a rescission of a request. The proposed law would not authorize ending a patient’s life by lethal injection, active euthanasia, or mercy killing. The death certificate would list the underlying terminal disease as the cause of death. Participation under the proposed law would be voluntary. An unwilling health care provider could prohibit or sanction another health care provider for participating while on the premises of, or while acting as an employee of or contractor for, the unwilling provider. The proposed law states that no person would be civilly or criminally liable or subject to professional discipline for actions that comply with the law, including actions taken in good faith that substantially comply. It also states that it should not be interpreted to lower the applicable standard of care for any health care provider. A person’s decision to make or rescind a request could not be restricted by will or contract made on or after January 1, 2013, and could not be considered in issuing, or setting the rates for, insurance policies or annuities. Also, the proposed law would require the attending physician to report each case in which life-ending medication is dispensed to the state Department of Public Health. The Department would provide public access to statistical data compiled from the reports. The proposed law states that if any of its parts was held invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law allowing a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at the request of a terminally-ill patient meeting certain conditions, to end that person’s life.

Keep Calm and Carry On was a propaganda poster produced by the Government of the United Kingdom in 1939 during the beginning of the Second World War, intended to raise the morale of the British public in the event of a Nazi invasion of Britain. It had only limited distribution, and thus was little known. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of products.

Everyone has their own way of responding to crisis. Some choose an elaborate, drama-filled news report. Others choose to remain calm and heed warnings. Information in our world moves quickly within social media and breaking news. How can we use technology to gather our collective spiritual efforts to change the response and course of events? How do you handle being in the midst of a crisis or natural disaster?

Hawaii-based social media consultant Roxanne Darling started the hashtag #ThinkCalmThoughts as a way to aggregate positive thinking and good energy toward a potentially negative situation.

Time for us to adopt Roxanne's hashtag and thoughts in the Northeast. ;-)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Aerosmith's "Legendary Child" has been reworked as part of the PEPSI NFL Anthems program, where artists have created songs for seven football teams in the league. The song is now the new anthem for the band's hometown team, the New England Patriots.

Steven Tyler said the song "is a true representation of our allegiance to the New England Patriots and the city of Boston." Boston pride, yo!

I was at the Inbound Marketing Summit and #FutureM at the Hynes Convention Center and needed to get some brunch on a Tuesday at 10:15 AM.

I walked over to the Prudential Food Court with low expectations. I haven't eaten in a Food Court in years. The last time might have been 10 years ago in Burlington at the Burlington Mall.

When I walked into the Prudential Food court I saw Cheeseboy. I'd seen them profiled on local TV and decided to give them a try.

YouTube: Cheeseboy - Boston (Phantom Gourmet)

Cheeseboy had a selection of specials, or you could make your own. Included in the specials was a Turkey and Cranberry grilled cheese sandwich. That's one of my favorites. So I ordered one. It was custom made and took a few minutes.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

As crisp as the first snowfall of the year, this unfiltered white ale is blended with holiday spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel. The familiar citrus and wheat characters of the ale are complemented by the warmth of the spices for a festive brew that’s perfect for the season.

Watch as TaylorMade-adidas Golf CEO Mark King and Executive Vice President Sean Toulon introduce the revolutionary new RocketBladez and RocketBladez Tour irons. RocketBladez are for all players seeking the optimum combination of distance, control, feel, forgiveness and playability. The Speed Pocket has changed the iron forever. The distance iron is now on Tour. RocketBladez are available 10/23/12 for $799; RocketBladez Tour available 02/01/13 for $899. For more information, visit http://www.taylormadegolf.com

I got a sample 6 iron with a bucket of balls. Looking forward to trying it out.

Initially I spent some time hitting the RocketBladez on the range. The weather was iffy, so I left the FlightScope at home, but two things struck me.

The RocketBladez is stupid easy to hit…and hit straight
Unless you’re unearthing gophers (which I did a few times) there appears to be almost zero penalty for missing the center of the clubface.
Now would probably be a good time to point out that while TaylorMade has made some mention of distance (Freakishly Longer! #freakishlylonger – it wouldn’t be TaylorMade if they didn’t), the real buzz word around the release of the RocketBladez is consistency. Sadly, consistency won’t ever sell like distance, however; so the marketing guys included a healthy dose of both. Did I mention they’re freakishly longer?

According to TaylorMade CEO, Mark King, “The genius of the Speed Pocket is that not only does it deliver more speed for more distance, it delivers consistent speed, so shots fly a consistent distance”.

This rich dark gingerbread stout entices with the aromas of the holidays, hinting at the merriment and spices within. The flavor of gingerbread comes alive beginning with the smooth sweetness and heartiness of dark roasted malts and a touch of wheat. But it’s the intensity and spices of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, & ginger that add a wicked kick for a jolly playful brew full of merry mischief.

Monday, October 22, 2012

FutureM Opening Night Celebration
Opening night is the kickoff event to the biggest marketing festival in Boston. A celebration of our awesome community, a get-together of the industry’s best and brightest from around the country. How better to launch a great week than a party!? Fantastic music, food and drinks will get us rolling. We’ll have various digital adventures for you to partake in and there will even be some learning!

Our featured speaker is Shira Lazar, host and executive producer of Emmy-nominated ‘What’s Trending with Shira Lazar’. Shira’s show, a daily happening on YouTube, is a live interactive show and 24/7 news hub, showcasing the biggest events, viral videos, celebrity interviews and pop culture memes. Named one of Fast Company's 2011 Most Influential Women in Technology and Huffington Post's "Women in Tech to Follow on Twitter," Lazar has been the face of the biggest live-streams on the web including, The Oscars, The Grammys, and Macy's Fashion's Night Out, among many others.

At Opening Night, Shira, along with her partner in crime, Damon Berger, CEO of What’s Trending, will discuss internet culture and digital trends. Using their favorite Top 5 lists from the show, they will reveal the secrets to modern marketing via the best online video examples of entertainment, branding, and content marketing. With consumers becoming their own media companies and the ability to build (or bust) brands through social, new modes of content creation are driving innovative approaches to marketing. Shira and Damon will provide an eye-opening look at what’s next.

Join us for the biggest celebration of marketing innovation during FutureM week – Opening Night is sure to rock you.

Welcome to a gallery of the most beautiful panoramic photos on the web. Taking panoramic photos is fun, but when trying to share them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you can't see how great these photos really are. Until now...

In this (profane) installment of Penn Jillette's Atheist's Guide to the 2012 Election, the Penn and Teller illusionist (and outspoken atheist) sizes up Mitt Romney's religion.

Penn Jillette: Mitt Romney is wearing crazy underwear. He’s wearing magic underwear. He is. I mean, under his pants, he is wearing magic underwear. Magic underwear. And he believes that a convicted con man got golden tablets that no one else could see, and sat with an angel to find out that the original Jews of the Bible were living in North America. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. But… just more modern, not more crazy, than other religions. Not more crazy than Islam, you know, with your… not more crazy than virgin births and resurrections. Not more crazy than any of that stuff. What’s really fascinating to me, fascinating, is that… and I cover this in my book when I say signs you may already be an atheist, it fascinates me that you can have the Bible Belt and you can have a court trial, and we’ve seen this. I’m going to use it hypothetically, but you’ll know the specifics I’m talking about, I just don’t want to talk about that kind of pain too directly, it’s too unpleasant for me. But hypothetically, in the Bible Belt, where you can have a born-again Christian Judge, born-again Christian Judge. I believe the Bible is the literal word of God, there were talking snakes, there were talking snakes and virgin births. Burning bushes and Abraham being willing to kill his son for God. He believes that.

The sound is like thunder; the sight is awe-inspiring! Take a journey deep below and behind the heart of Niagara, and stand in the mist where the mighty Horseshoe Falls tumbles from 13 storeys above! At Journey Behind the Falls, you'll experience the awesome spectacle of one-fifth of the world’s fresh water crashing down to the basin below. During summer daylight hours, over 2,800 cubic meters of water thunders over the brink every second, traveling 65 kilometers per hour!

Located at the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, in the Table Rock Welcome Centre.

Elevators descend 150 feet through bedrock to tunnels leading to the Cataract Portal and the Great Falls Portal, one third of the way behind the massive sheet of water.

Walk on to the Upper and Lower Observation Decks at the very foot of the Falls.

In the spring and summer months, you'll receive a free souvenir biodegradable rain poncho as protection from the mist of the Falls.

When we took a look over at this attraction, it just looked like a bunch of people, outside, getting a closer look at the falls.

I had no idea that we were going to actually go BEHIND NIAGARA FALLS.

Image: Raincoats will be given out in elevator.

Image: In our yellow raincoats.

Once you get out of the elevator you can start your walk towards the falls.

Here's the first lookout point.

The raincoats do serve a purpose because it is pretty wet out there.

Here's the 2nd sheltered lookout point but the roof makes no difference goes all the water sprays in from the side.

Next, you take a walked down the long hallway to the portals where you can look outside.

I took a few 15 second videos on my iPhone 5 with TOUT. Can't embed so you have to visit the site to see them.

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About Me

Steve is a Social Media Traveler. Companies, brands, and destinations send my wife and I on trips in hopes that we will publicly share our experiences via social media. Examples include opening festivities for the Hermitage Club and traveling with GMC to the Super Bowl. (Go Pats!) We are available for more branded experience trips.